The Parenthood Project
by One and a Half Slytherins
Summary: in alphabetical order: Blaise, Draco, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Lavender, Luna, Neville, Pansy, and Ron all sign up to become parents for the school year. Follow their year-long adventure into parenthood.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: The Potion

The Parenthood Project

Steph

"As you have all been told, you will be participating in a project that the Ministry of Magic has put in place as a way to help prepare you for your futures. Although some of you may believe that this particular aspect won't be part of your future, it is still mandatory to participate. The sorting hat will be placed on the girls and it will choose a suitable partner. There is no changing the decision once it's been made, so don't try and argue about who gets picked. Alright, Miss Parkinson, you will go first," Professor McGonagall told the ten students that were seated in front of her. Pansy stood up with an unpleased grimace on her face and sat on the stool. This had been the same stool they'd all sat on in their first year to get sorted. She sat in the Sorting Hat and waited.

After a moment of deliberation, the hat said, "Miss Parkinson will be partnered with Mister Zabini." They both frowned and Draco smirked, thankful that he didn't have to be paired with her.

It was Luna's turn next and she skipped happily up to the stool. The hat didn't take as long with this choice and quickly proclaimed, "Miss Lovegood will be partnered with Mister Longbottom." She smiled at him and went to sit back in her seat.

Lavender stood up next and it took the hat quite a long time to decide. Finally, it said, "Miss Brown will be partnered with Mister Weasley." Ron went red and Lavender looked extremely annoyed at the choice, sitting back down in her seat.

Ginny walked up next and sat confidently on the stool while the hat deliberated. "Miss Weasley will be paired with Mister Potter," it said, and Harry beamed with delight. Ginny walked down and sat next to Harry.

Hermione looked around and noticed that she was the last one left. That could only mean one thing. She walked up and sat on the stool, knowing her fate as soon as the hat touched her head. Without much thought, the hat said, "Miss Granger will be partnered with Mister Malfoy." Draco groaned and Hermione wore an unpleased frown on her face. She went and sat down in her spot, and McGonagall began to explain more.

"Now that you all have your partners, you will need to decide as a group what the password for your common room will be. The ten of you will be living in a dormitory and will be spending the remainder of the term living as muggles. Anything outside of your schoolwork is to be done without magic. Inability to abide by this rule will result in a week's detention. Now off with you. The rest of your assignment will be waiting for you in your dormitory. Good luck everyone," she told them.

They all stood up and made their way out of the Great Hall. No one spoke much on the way there, and when they reached the door they had to decide what the password would be. They decided on "Unity" because of the partners and how they needed to have unity in order to cooperate. The portrait opened and they walked in. It looked similar to their dorms in Gryffindor tower, only there was a kitchen on one side of the common room and five love seats on the other facing the fireplace. There was a piece of parchment on the coffee table with emerald green writing on it. Hermione picked it up and read it out to the others.

_Students,_

_Welcome to the Parenthood Project. As part of the assignment, the ten of you will be living as muggles for the remainder of the school year. Each pair will be responsible for taking care of their child or children. In each pair's room there will be a crib with a small doll in it and a vial of potion. You are to take the potion and add to it a hair from each parent. Mix it well and pour it into the mouth of the doll, after which you will leave the room for thirty minutes and wait. The child or children will grow noticeably faster than normal, each month representing a year. By the end of the year, you should have children that are approximately ten years old. Enjoy the rest of the year._

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

"Children? You mean there could be more than one?" Ron asked aloud, not caring who answered.

Hermione replied with "I guess so. Well, let's go up and get started on this, shall we?" The girls were up and ready, but the boys were sulking on the loveseats. They each grabbed their partners by the wrists and dragged them up to their rooms.

Each room was the size of a dorm room in the other houses. There were two twin beds on either side of the room and a crib against the wall between them. Each person had their own closet and desk, and there was an extra closet for the baby's clothing. The change table stood next to the crib, fully stocked and ready to be used.

"Come on Draco, let's do this," Hermione said excitedly, forgetting that she was paired up with the most obnoxious, self-absorbed person on the planet.

He walked up next to her. "Fine, let's get this over with." He sighed.

They each pulled a few hairs and dropped them into the vial. As Hermione shook it, it changed colors. Green, blue, orange, red, white, and finally, it became clear. She popped the stopper off and poured it carefully into the mouth of the doll. A second or two passed before a blinding white light erupted from the crib. Hermione grabbed Draco by the wrist and dragged him from the room, shutting the door behind them and walking out to the common room.

Pansy and Blaise were already there sitting awkwardly on one of the loveseats. Neville and Luna came after them and Ron, Lavender, Harry and Ginny came out last. They set the kitchen timer for thirty minutes and waited. The awkward silence was almost too much and Hermione had left all her books in the room.

Harry checked the timer. Fifteen minutes to go. Neville and Luna were busy discussing names, and soon enough everyone was chattering away. The timer rang at the end of the thirty minutes and everyone jumped. They all sat and stared at each other nervously, waiting to see who would go first. Ginny pulled Harry up and Hermione followed suit, encouraging the rest of the pairs to follow them. Each of them entered their rooms at the exact same time, and to begin with, there was complete silence.

Draco stayed by the door while Hermione walked over slowly to the crib. A smile broke out across her face when she saw the tiny baby girl lying there staring up at her. Hermione picked her up carefully and looked at her. She had Draco's blonde hair with her curls and her warm brown eyes. She looked like Hermione, but had a bit of Draco in her as well. Intrigued, Draco walked over to see what had Hermione so fascinated. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the little blonde haired baby lying in her arms.

"She's beautiful," he whispered.

Hermione looked up and nodded then said, "What should her name be?"  
>"Well I like the name Nicole," he suggested.<p>

Hermione looked down at the baby. "Nicole Granger-Malfoy."

Draco smiled and said, "That's perfect. Come on, let's go show her off."

They walked out of the room, Hermione and Nicole first and Draco right behind them. They were the first ones back in the common room. Draco could feel the pride swell up inside him as he watched his daughter.

"How old do you reckon she is? She looks about four or five months old at the most, don't you think?" he asked.

Hermione nodded, her eyes glued to the baby in her arms. Excitement buzzed through the air in the dormitory and they could hear some of the others in their rooms.

Blaise and Pansy walked in the room, Blaise holding the baby and Pansy following closely beside him. A little boy with black hair and bright blue eyes. They'd named him Parker.

Harry and Ginny came down next, Harry holding the baby in one arm and the other wrapped around Ginny.

"Her name's Grace. Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen?" Ginny told them excitedly.

"I don't know Weasley, my little Nicole here is pretty tough to beat," Draco joked, taking the baby carefully from Hermione and walking over to where Ginny and Harry were standing.

Hermione followed closely, not too fond of the uneasy feeling she felt when being separated from her baby.

Luna walked out with a little curly brown haired, blue eyed girl in her arms, and Neville followed behind her with a blonde haired, blue eyed boy in his arms.

"Oh, you guys got twins! That's so cute! What are their names?" Hermione asked.

"Logan and Lucas," Luna told them. She was all smiles as she watched the babies.

"Logan and Lucas? The girl is Logan I assume? Weird... I like it. It's very you," Harry laughed.

Ron and Lavender came out last, Ron carrying a little red haired brown eyed boy and Lavender carrying a red haired, blue eyed boy.

"Everyone, this is Arthur and Rupert. Turns out the red hair is a pretty dominant trait hey Harry," Ron laughed, noticing that Harry and Ginny's baby also had red hair.

Everyone sat down on one of the loveseats and talked about the babies. Hermione had taken Nicole back from Draco and couldn't take her eyes off her. No one realized how late it had gotten until some of the baby's had either fallen asleep or started to get restless. Everyone said their goodnights and went to their bedrooms. In the rooms of the pairs that had twins, there were now two cribs.

Hermione had changed Nicole into a pink sleeper and was now rocking her to sleep. Draco returned from the bathroom and saw that Hermione still had Nicole in her arms. He smirked, knowing it was going to be a long night and walked over to them. He kissed Nicole's head and took her from Hermione, who headed off to change. The sleepy brown eyes that watched him slowly closed and her breathing was slow and even. He set her gently into her crib and made sure she was asleep before sitting on the edge of his bed.

Hermione returned and sat on the edge of her bed. "If she wakes up, I'll take her first, then you can get her after that and we'll just trade back and forth. Sound good?" she asked.

He nodded then shut off the lights and climbed into bed.

There it was, the sound they'd both been dreading. It was two in the morning and she'd started crying. Hermione groaned and sat up, stumbling over to the crib. She picked the crying infant up and rocked her in her arms for close to five minutes before Nicole was finally back to sleep again. Hermione could hear another baby crying from the other room, followed by two people bickering. Draco was fast asleep in his bed on the other side of the room. Hermione climbed back into bed and fell asleep once again.

"Hermione... Hermione, wake up." The voice sounded familiar, but she was unwilling to open her eyes.

"What is it Draco?" she mumbled, still half asleep.

"I think Nicole needs a diaper change," he told her.

She rolled her eyes, "So change it then." She turned onto her side and tried to get back to sleep, but Draco was persistent.

"I can't. I've never done it before and were not allowed to use magic," he told her.

She growled something under her breath and sat up, rubbing her eyes and stretching. She only now realized that Nicole was crying again, or more rather screaming. It was enough to make you want to hex your ears off. Draco sat on his bed and watched as Hermione trudged over to the crib and pulled the screaming infant from it a second time. She looked at her watch. Four thirty two. She looked back over at Draco, who was now asleep again and frowned.

Changing her diaper only momentarily calmed Nicole before the screaming started up again. Hermione held her and walked around the room, hushing her and talking to her to try and calm her down. She had run out of ideas when she walked past the change table and saw a pacifier sitting there. She grabbed it and put it to Nicole's mouth. She immediately began sucking on it and was calmed instantly. Hermione knew what to do.

She walked down to the common room and made her way over to the kitchen. She pulled open a cupboard and found it full to the brim with bottles. She grabbed one and the first jar of formula that she saw. With Nicole content in her arm, she managed to mix together the formula and sit down on a loveseat. The light from the fire was just bright enough to see what she was doing. She pulled to pacifier from Nicole's mouth, who promptly began to wriggle in protest, and replaced it with the bottle.

She sucked on it quickly, her eyes searching around the room as she drank. About half way through, she began to fall asleep and close her eyes. Hermione stood up, carrying them both in her arms and made her way back up to her room. She laid Nicole back in her crib and set the bottle in the corner for next time. Her bed had never seemed so inviting as she crawled into it and curled up beneath the covers.

A loud noise was beeping in Hermione's ear when she woke up. The alarm clock that was on the table beside her bed was going off. She squinted at the numbers and saw that it was almost seven in the morning. She pressed the button on top and sat up, rubbing her eyes to try and wake up more. She could hear Nicole babbling to herself in her crib and smiled.

She walked over, leaning against the edge of the crib and said, "Good morning Nicole. How's mama's little girl?" Nicole babbled to Hermione as she pulled her out of the crib. She carried her with her and walked down to the common room to make breakfast. Ginny was sitting on one of the loveseats with Grace when Hermione walked in.

"Morning 'Mione. How was your first night?" she asked.

"It wasn't too bad I suppose. She only woke up twice, but I had to get her both times. Draco was either sleeping or unable to perform his fatherly duties in the middle of the night," Hermione told her.

They both laughed and Ginny said, "I know how you feel. Harry wouldn't budge from his bed the whole night. Grace was up at least four times. Did you hear Ron and Lavender arguing?"

"Yeah I did. Their kids are going to be loud, that's for sure." Hermione looked over at the kitchen area. "Hey, there's a letter from McGonagall on the counter here," Hermione said, picking it up and opening it.

_Good morning everyone,_

_This letter is to inform all of you that you will, until your children are old enough, be alternating your classes with your partners. The girls will take the first day to adjust and create a routine for the children while the boys attend their classes as normal. Then tomorrow the boys will stay with the children while the girls go to their classes. This will take place until further notice._

_Professor McGonagall_

_Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Ginny looked slightly confused, and Hermione felt slightly disappointed. She'd been looking forward to the first day of classes.

"We should wake the boys, because they'll never get up if we don't," Hermione said, shifting Nicole to the other arm and making her way toward their bedrooms.

The sun had started to come through the windows when she walked in. Draco was lying on his back snoring lightly, which made her laugh. She sat Nicole on the bed beside him.

"Malfoy, wake up. Someone wants to see you." Nicole squealed and tapped her hands on his chest. His eyes fluttered open and he smiled, grabbing Nicole and sitting her on his chest.

"Good morning Nicole," he said, sitting up and kissing her on the forehead.

"Draco, it's your day to go to your classes. There was a letter from McGonagall this morning," Hermione told him, grabbing Nicole and waiting for Draco to get up off the bed.

"My day? You mean like we're switching on and off for classes. I do one day and you do the next sort of thing?" he asked, pulling on his school uniform.

"Basically, yes. She said that the girls have to stay here and create a routine for the babies, and then you guys get to stay with them tomorrow," she told him, trying not to stare at him while he changed. She wondered why he hadn't waited until she'd left to change. She'd never noticed how nice he looked before.

'Hold on a second. This is Draco Malfoy we're talking about. Slytherin sex god. The father of our child... He's the father of our child. That must mean something... He's just so... So handsome.'

Hermione shook her head slightly and stood up. "We'll be down in the common room to say goodbye before you leave," she said as she walked out the door.

Lavender was practically screaming at Ron to wake up with no success.

Hermione knocked on the door. "Hey, is everything ok in there?"

Lavender opened the door, her face red with anger. "No. Ronald won't wake up or get out of bed, Rupert and Arthur won't stop crying and everything's a mess."

Hermione walked in and went over to the cribs where the twins lay screaming. She grabbed the green and blue pacifiers off the change table and popped them into their mouths. They were both completely quiet and Lavender was amazed.

Next, she walked over to where Ron lay asleep and said, "Ronald Weasley if you don't get up and get ready, I'm going to get Ginny in here to wake you up, and we both know you don't want your sister in here."

He jumped out of bed, almost knocking over the night table and shouted,  
>"Okay, okay I'm up! Please don't send my sister in here!"<p>

Lavender stood in the doorway with her mouth gaping at Hermione as this happened. Although they'd never really been good friends before, Lavender hugged Hermione once and said, "Thank you so much! You're a lifesaver."

Hermione nodded and walked out to the common room. Neville and Blaise were standing in the kitchen waiting for Draco, Ron and Harry to come out.

"Where's Luna and Pansy?" Hermione asked.

"They're both still sleeping. It was a long night," Neville told her.

Blaise nodded in agreement. "Parker was up all night. I don't think we got more than four hours of sleep. I'm starting to regret signing up for this assignment."

Draco, Harry and Ron shuffled into the common room, Ron looking like the undead, Harry and Draco looking exhausted.

Ginny came in shortly after them with Grace. "Alright you guys, you'd better get down to the great hall for breakfast and get to class."

Harry walked over to her and said, "Have a good day with our daughter. Try not to get into too much trouble."

She laughed and said, "You should take your own advice some time." They shared a hug before he began to depart.

"Bye bye Nicole, daddy loves you," Draco said to Nicole, then nodded to Hermione once with a muffled "Bye Granger," and walked out with the rest of the boys.

It was nearly eight o'clock when Pansy came out with Parker. She looked completely worn out as she slumped down onto a loveseat.

"Long night Pansy?" Ginny asked as she pulled a bottle out of the cupboard.

"You have no idea. This kid doesn't sleep at all, I'm serious. It was like all he wanted to do was scream. I'm surprised he still has any voice left. I never thought something so small could be so loud," Pansy groaned.

"I know how you feel. I don't think Arthur or Rupert slept more than a couple hours last night. Ron yelling at me probably didn't help any, but he wouldn't get out of bed to check on them. I was this close to killing him," Lavender told her, creating a very small space between her thumb and index finger.

Hermione had begun to look around the common room for one of her text books when she came across a small closet door. "Hey Ginny, come look at this," Hermione said from inside the closet.

Ginny walked over and her jaw dropped at what was inside the small closet. "What is all this stuff? I've never seen anything like it!" she told Hermione.

They walked out, Hermione pulling one of the larger boxes with her and setting it down on the floor. "It's called a playpen. Muggles use it to keep their kids safe while they do things. My mother had one, but she hardly ever needed it because I spent most of my time on the floor reading books. They're really useful when you need to get things done and not have to worry about your baby getting into things," she explained.

She walked over and grabbed a pair of scissors from the kitchen and cut the tape off the box. Thankfully, it came preassembled so they didn't have to do much. Hermione set Nicole into it once it was assembled and watched her carefully for a moment. She flipped onto her stomach and giggled happily, enjoying the freedom to move around as she pleased.

"That's amazing! Muggles sure have some astonishing things. It's no wonder dad loves them so much," Ginny said excitedly, placing Grace down into the playpen with her bottle and walking back over to the closet.

There was another playpen box and a few more things that Ginny didn't recognize left in the closet. They pulled all the boxes out and examined them, Hermione pointing out and explaining what each one was. There were strollers for each pair, doubles for the pairs with twins, high chairs, and a couple jolly jumpers.

"What's a jolly jumper? It looks sort of like a swing," Ginny asked, intrigued by the picture on the box.

"Once the babies are older, they can sit in one of these and jump around. It's sort of like a swing, only it's stationary. Once they start getting ready to walk, they can use it. I'd say close to the end of the month they'll be able to use them, if McGonagall's instructions are correct," Hermione explained, thinking back to the letter McGonagall had left them then night before.

"Lucky we have you Hermione, or we'd never know what to do with all this stuff," Ginny told her, opening the other playpen and beginning to set it up.

"Hey Hermione, would you mind helping me with Rupert and Arthur for a second? I need to feed both of them and I can only do so much at once," Lavender asked from the loveseat. She had both boys lying on the cushion in front of her, too afraid to move or leave them alone.

Hermione stood up and walked over, sitting down where Lavender had been sitting and watching the boys. They both looked just like Ron, except for Arthur's eyes. They were a golden brown color like Lavender's.

"Hey, there's something else in here! It was on the floor in the back," Ginny said, emerging from the closet carrying five cameras.

"Maybe were supposed to document the project or something," Hermione said.

Excitement filled her as Ginny passed her a camera. She turned it on and aimed it at the playpen where Nicole was lying with her legs kicking the air. The button was pushed and a quick flash erupted from the small bulb. That was their first picture.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Cameras and Lullabies

The Parenthood Project

Steph

September 4

**Hermione**

Friday morning was relatively uneventful. Aside from Luna, all of us had separation anxiety from the second we woke up until we went to leave for class. I had spent most of the previous night with Draco teaching him Nicole's schedule and showing him what to do when any issue arose. I was completely convinced that he hadn't paid attention to anything I'd said because the only response he gave me was a nod or the occasional uh huh.

"And you'll make sure that she gets put down on time for her nap and that you don't use a blanket or any sort of pillows in her crib," I asked, triple checking one last time before I left.

He nodded. "I've got it. You've told me all of this a million times and written it down. I think I'll do fine."

I huffed an impatient sigh and shook my head at him. He was standing in front of me holding Nicole so that she was facing outward and leaning against his chest. I kissed her forehead quickly before being dragged out of the portrait hole by Ginny.

"You are such a worrywart. Honestly Hermione, have a little faith in the guys. What's the worst that could happen," she said, trying to distract me. We got to the bottom of the staircase and walked toward the Great Hall.

"There are so many things that could go wrong! Boys and babies aren't a good combination. It's like Ron in charms. He's about as helpful as a troll," I told her, thoughts of anything and everything that could go wrong. I pushed the thought from my mind and sat down at the Gryffindor table.

**Draco**

Nicole was screaming at the top of her lungs, and I had no idea what to do with her. She wouldn't take the pacifier or the bottle of formula and she had just been changed by Hermione before she left. She was just lying there in the playpen screaming at me, her little face all scrunched up and red.

"What's wrong with your kid Malfoy?" Blaise shouted from the kitchen.

"I don't know. She won't shut up and she won't take anything I give her. She's like a mini Granger," I shouted back.

Nicole's screaming only got louder as they shouted back and forth. Harry finally came out from changing Grace into the outfit Ginny had laid out for her and set Grace into the playpen beside Nicole. He picked her up and cradled her gently in his arms. She stopped screaming and looked up at him as if trying to identify him.

"How did you do that Potter?" I asked. First he's the best seeker, now he's the best dad. There was no way I was letting him upstage me with my own daughter. I stood up and took her from him, making sure to hold her exactly the same way he had. She was small, but she weighed more than she looked. She was a sturdy baby, that's for sure.

"She just wanted to be held, that's all. Hermione must hold her a lot, and now she's growing accustom to having someone hold her. It's probably comforting to her," he explained.

I rolled my eyes. "If it's not Granger, it's you. I thought she was the only know it all, but I guess you two trade off."

"Hey Harry, did Hermione tell you anything about what we're supposed to do with these cameras last night?" Ron asked, tossing the camera between his hands.

He shrugged his shoulders. "uhh take pictures?" He said sarcastically. "I dunno. I think she said were supposed to document the project or something. Maybe it's just an excuse to take photos of the kids. Who knows?"

I walked over to the loveseat and sat down, Nicole still content in my arms.

**Hermione**

"I'm going to the library for a while. I'll see you at lunch." Ginny walked in the opposite direction of me as I made my way to the library.

I usually spent my free period there every day, but Harry and Ron were usually with me so it was odd to have things so quiet and not have to listen to their conversations about Quidditch. I searched the library twice over for a book on the babies, but nothing came up. I settled for a book on growth charms and sat in one of the window seats. I flipped through the pages, simply skimming, when I came across an article that intrigued me.

_Child Growth Charms and Potions: Accelerated Youth._

_In a study conducted by a panel of expert healers at St. Mungo's, several children created by the Human Replication Charm were subjected to an accelerated growth potion for a year's time. Not only were there severe complications with four of the children, one of the children was killed by the potion. Investigation confirmed suspicions that the potion had caused the brain and other internal organs to grow noticeably faster than the rest of the body. This caused severe brain damage and eventually death. Since that time, there have been other experiments which have been more successful due to changes in the potion's main aging component. The genetic donors, or "Parents" as they are more commonly known, were from a variety of different age groups. The children created using DNA from the younger Parent age group, mainly sixteen to twenty-five year olds, proved most successful in their trials. Since then, the ministry has been using the students from many schools across the country to test these trials. The most recent trial was recorded at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1947, nearly seventy-five years after the potion was created. No record of what happened to the children after the project was completed has ever been found. Since the project at Hogwarts ended, there have been no more studies and trials conducted._

Shocked and determined to find out anything I could about the projects, I searched the library once more. Within five minutes I managed to find a book on all of the St. Mungo's trials conducted from the mid 1800's to the late 1960's, one on Human Replication Potions and their side effects, and three on aging spells, charms and potions. I quickly checked the books out and left, heading off to Ancient Runes.

**Draco**

"I hate being confined to a dormitory. I think I'm getting claustrophobic or something," I sighed, leaning back against the thick loveseat cushion.

It was exactly one o'clock and I'd just put Nicole down for her nap. Two solid hours of free time. Well, if she sleeps for that long then maybe, but I highly doubt it will happen.

"For once, I think I can agree with you Malfoy. I can honestly say I'd much rather be out practicing for Quidditch tryouts than be stuck inside this common room for another five hours with all these kids," Weaselbee blurted in agreement.

"I'm glad for a bit of down time. I can finally get started on my Herbology essay," Longbottom chimed in. I must have forgotten he was sitting there because hearing his voice made me jump slightly.

Potter smacked his forehead and groaned. "That reminds me. We've got a potions essay due tomorrow, and I'm almost certain Snape won't tolerate any lates considering this is our last year.

All three of us groaned in unison at the thought, but stood up and made our way quietly to our rooms to get fresh parchment and our potions textbooks. I tiptoed around Nicole's crib, thankful that the floorboards didn't creak, and grabbed my rucksack off the desk. Lucky for me, Granger always leaves her excessive amounts of spare parchment out on the desk, so I grab a few sheets and a quill then make my way quickly back out to the common room.

Never in my life has it taken me this long to write a potions essay. Usually, I can finish it in half an hour and get a decent grade on it. Not today apparently. I've been sitting here for almost three hours now thinking of what to write with no success. On top of this, Nicole has been awake for the past hour and a half and insists on making noise constantly which is not only highly annoying, but it's distracting me from what little focus I have today. Luckily she doesn't want to be held at the moment so both my hands are free.

After about ten minutes of thinking it over, I finally decided to try and take a break. I leaned back and rubbed my eyes, listening to the babies talk to each other in whatever language it is children use to communicate. Then I remembered the cameras that the girls had found yesterday. I opened my eyes and saw one of them sitting on the coffee table in front of me. My knowledge of muggle cameras was pretty limited, but I could remember Granger explaining it to us all last night.

"You just have to aim it at what you want to take a photo of, then press this little button on the top and wait for the flash to go off. It's pretty simple." Her voice rang in my ears as I looked over the camera and remembered what to do.

I sat on the floor beside the playpen and watched Nicole and Grace. Grace was on her stomach with a small rubber ring in her hand and Nicole was lying on her back trying to steal the toy from her. I put the camera up to my eye, aimed it and pushed the button. The flash erupted from the tiny bulb and I knew it was done. According to Granger, muggle pictures don't move like ours do.

"Muggles and their contraptions. I don't know how they could possibly live like this their whole lives. Life without magic is pointless in my opinion," I muttered to myself.

Nicole had heard my voice and looked over at me, smiling and talking. I took another photo; the flash made her eyes go blank for a moment after adjusting to the light change. She rolled onto her stomach and started to push against the padded bottom of the playpen. I watched as she slowly attempted to push herself up, falling back down a few times before getting high enough up to roll her legs around in front of her. I finally understood what she was trying to do. She'd just gotten to a sitting position when she lost her balance and rolled onto her back. I pulled the blanket off the loveseat behind me and folded it up a few times, laying it out on the floor in front of me.

"Here Nicole, let daddy help you," I chuckled, picking her up out of the playpen and setting her stomach down on the blanket. She looked at me oddly once before attempting to push herself up again. I took photos as she got to each position, and finally when she toppled over again. She grabbed her foot and pulled it up to her chest, holding it there and playing with her toes while talking more. I took a few more photos, and then put her on her stomach one last time to see if she could finally sit up. She pushed up, rolled her legs around to the front and sat up. She wobbled a bit, so I gave her my hand to hold onto. She grabbed my fingers and held herself there for a moment before promptly beginning to try and eat my fingers.

With my free hand, I grabbed the camera and aimed it, pushing the button and catching her looking right at me. She looked absolutely ridiculous with my fingers in her mouth and a cute half smile on her face. It looked almost as if she were smirking at me.

"Just like your daddy, always smirking," I told her.

She let go of my hand, sitting balanced for a few seconds before turning to look at something and falling backwards once again. I chuckled and picked her up, walking over to the refrigerator, pulling out one of the premade bottles marked with her name on it and putting it up to her mouth. She took it and drank eagerly. I sat back down on the loveseat and thought while she drank. While my thoughts wandered, I came up with the perfect topic for my potions essay.

Nicole had just finished off her bottle and was now talking once again. I set her back into the playpen next to Grace and went over to my essay.

**Hermione**

"Hermione if you move any faster you're going to plough over a herd of first years. Calm down already, we'll get to them in like five minutes," Ginny complained to me as the five of us walked up the staircase from the Great Hall where we'd all met for dinner.

I ate faster than I should have, and began to feel sick when we started up the long staircases. The one we were on moved, causing me to grab the side for balance and almost drop my books. I could see our portrait hole from here and the anxiety took over completely. Once we got to the landing in front of our portrait, I hurriedly said the password and walked in with my eyes slightly closed, imagining the worst.

"Evening girls," Neville shouted from the kitchen, greeting us as we walked in.

He, Ron and Harry were all cleaning up what I assumed was dinner while Draco and Blaise sat in the living room watching the babies.

Ginny walked right up to Harry and hugged him around the waist. "How was your day? I hope the kids didn't give you boys a rough time."

"You wish. They were all perfect, well, except for Nicole." Harry said.

My heart sank into my stomach. "What do you mean?" I whirled my heard around to Draco. "What happened today Malfoy?" I asked, my mind whirring with horrible things.

He stood up with Nicole and walked over to me, his signature smirk on his face, and handed her to me. "She was a pain all morning, screaming and crying. She really is your daughter."

Everyone but me laughed at his witty remark. I looked down at Nicole and saw that she had what looked like a Malfoy signature smirk on her face. I glared at Draco until he finally cracked and told me what really happened.

"She was upset after you left this morning, but it turns out she just wanted to be held for a while. After her nap she tried to sit up a couple times, then finally did it with a bit of help," he explained.

My heart sank even lower. I missed my daughter sitting for the first time. "Did you take and pictures? Please tell me you remembered to take pictures," I asked, pleading for the answer to be yes. His eyes dropped to the floor, and my hopes were dashed.

"I'm only joking, I took loads of pictures. How could I not!" he told me.

I rolled my eyes and walked past him to the living room, sitting down on the couch and cuddling Nicole. I looked down at my watch.

"It's nearly eight, we should get her to bed," I told Draco.

He nodded and walked silently behind me toward our room. While I changed Nicole and put her sleeper on, Draco sat on his bed and watched me. It felt strange to have someone watch me, especially some like Draco. He'd been a self-absorbed jerk all those years, constantly calling me names and ridiculing me about my looks or blood status. Now to see him sitting there, so vulnerable, was such a drastic change.

I shook my head slightly and focused on Nicole again. I set her down into her crib and kissed her forehead, whispering my goodnights to her. I stood up and could feel Draco standing beside me, his warm breath on the side of my face. He said his goodnights to Nicole and then walked out in front of me.

I closed the door slightly behind me and walked out to the common room. Draco sat on the last open loveseat, leaving me to curl up on the opposite cushion and watch the fire glow in the darkness that was coming over the room.

Harry and Ginny were quietly discussing Quidditch while Ron and Lavender argued about something irrelevant when I heard the crying. I looked over at Draco, then stood up and made my way silently over to my bedroom.

Her face was red and she looked extremely disgruntled when I walked up to her crib. She was screaming and crying at me and I watched her kick her legs around in frustration. I picked her up, but the crying continued. I sat on the edge on my bed and began to sing.

**Draco**

I could hear her screaming still, and could guess that Granger's tricks had no effect on Nicole. I got up and grabbed a bottle from the refrigerator before making my way toward our room. I stopped at the door when I heard the voice. It didn't sound like anything I'd ever heard before. I stood, dumbfounded by the sound, and listened for a second before silently opening the door and walking in. I stayed near the door and listened as she sang.

Golden slumber, kiss your eyes,  
>Smiles await you when you rise.<br>Sleep,  
>Pretty baby,<br>Do not cry,  
>And I'll sing you a lullaby.<p>

Care you know not,  
>Therefore sleep,<br>While I o'er you watch do keep.  
>Sleep,<br>Pretty darling,  
>Do not cry,<br>And I will sing a lullaby.

When she stopped, I snapped out of what felt like a sort of trance. I was mesmerized by her singing.

Nicole was fast asleep when she laid her back down in her crib. I waited for her to turn around and see me, but she just stayed there and watched our daughter sleep. I glided silently across the room and came up beside her. She looked over and jumped at my presence.

"Draco, you scared me," she whispered.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that. I just came to bring a bottle for Nicole and I heard you singing," I told her, my voice a deep whisper.

She blushed and took the bottle from my hands. I could feel Goosebumps form on my arms when her hand brushed mine, but immediately snapped out of it and walked away.

I'd just reached the door when she whispered after me in a hushed voice, "Thank you Draco."

My stomach flipped as I walked out of the room, shutting the door behind me.

I came back to the room an hour later and left the lights off as I pulled off my shirt and changed into my pajama bottoms. Granger was asleep on her bed, her hair only the slightest bit ruffled from sleep and her face peaceful while she dreamt. In the moonlight she looked beautiful, her skin smooth and untouched by the worry lines that usually were present. I slipped beneath the covers and fell asleep to the sound of her voice singing the song to our daughter in my mind.

The weekend went by quickly for all ten students. Most of the other babies had begun to try and sit up, following Nicole's example. Harry and Hermione made dinner for everyone Saturday night for their first real dinner as families. Sunday was spent doing homework and cleaning the now extremely untidy common room. The girls had Monday with the babies, and on Tuesday, the boys took their second go at taking care of the kids.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Morning and Mourning

The Parenthood Project

Robyn

September 8

**Lavender**

Waking up from less than five hours of sleep is never fun. Even if you know that you're going to ace your muggle studies exam that afternoon. Being tired makes you feel like the undead and makes you wish that the world would just end so you could sleep for the rest of eternity. Earth, however, is not planning on imploding anytime soon and if my alarm clock is correct, it's time to start my ridiculously exhausting day.

Sitting up, I stretched silently, careful not to wake anyone in the room. I looked over at my partner. What? No! We're not married or anything. Just partners. That have two children. Ahem.

Ronald Weasley's red hair was splayed everywhere on his pillow, making him look like he had a mane. A stream of drool was sliding down his spotted face, ending in the pool at the base of his pillow. Snoring was something he enjoyed doing on a nightly basis but, thankfully, he wasn't at that moment.

In between our two beds, two cribs were placed. I strode over to the one nearest my bed and looked down into the slumbering face of my Rupert. He was quiet in rest as well as awake. I watched the rise and fall of his chest and knew that I had helped create that. But not in the way you are thinking. Stop it.

The other crib held my other baby boy. Arthur. But something was wrong. His breathing and heart beat were accelerating and he was a noticeable size smaller than Rupert already.

"Ron?" I walked over to his bed and shook his shoulder. "Ron, There's something wrong with one of the kids."

He wiped the drool off his face with his arm and turned over.

I raised my voice louder. "Ron! Hello! There's something wrong with Arthur!"

Ron sat up, his hair still in disarray. "Wha-?" he mumbled.

"Hermione!" I called out the door, after opening it.

Hearing footsteps, I waited outside.

"What is it, Lavender? I don't get up for twenty more minutes,"

"There's something wrong with Arthur and Ron is an idiot." I told her.

"Oi, I'm right here." Ron mumbled, still half asleep.

"Barely," I said.

"Hey. If you're going to be like that then you can-"

"Quit it." Hermione said, sternly. "Lav's right. This shouldn't happen."

"Well, let's take him to Madam Pomfrey and make him better." I said, anguished.

"I'll come." Ron murmured.

"No. Stay here," I said with annoyance. "You're no help with anything."

**Ron**

They walked out of the room after making me feel like I didn't deserve to be in this project. I mean, sure. My mum and sister forced me into it but I thought I was responsible enough to figure out how to take care of a kid and do it well for the entire year.

I trudged over to Rupert's crib and picked him up.

"Looks like it's just you and me for now, buddy," he looked at me quizzically. "Don't you worry. Your brother's gonna be just fine. You're both going to grow up into perfect Weasleys."

Rupert probably should've cried at me for waking him up but he didn't. I don't know where he got the… non-loud from.

I took him down the hallway to the common room and placed him into one of the play pens. A ball was sitting in it and Rupert grabbed at it, rolling it around in the pen.

I started to make myself some toast with a toaster that Hermione showed me how to use. After watching Rupert play whilst I ate, I picked him up and dragged the play pen into our room. Placing him back in, I got dressed in my muggle clothes and waited for any sound that would signal another live human being.

I heard Luna first. She liked to sing strange songs that her father taught her in the mornings. 'Her children are going to grow up just as weird as her,' I thought.

Harry was first into the common room and I found myself wandering down there as well.

"What's up, mate?" Harry asked.

"Arthur's weird. Lav's working on it," I answered.

**Lavender**

Thinking of what could happen brought tears to my eyes. Madam Pomfrey had said that she would need at least until the end of the school day to diagnose the problem.

As I sat in Muggle Studies, I couldn't help but feel that something had just happened. I got that feeling in my stomach that made you think that a part of your heart was trying to tell you something.

Professor Burbage gave the exam, not caring how devastated I was. I had asked to take the test tomorrow, after finding out what was wrong but that was apparently unacceptable. "Take the test or take a zero."

Knowing I bombed it, I trudged out of the exam and went down to the Great Hall for lunch with my friend, Parvati and possibly her sister, Padma. She sometimes sat with us.

A few minutes after I had sat down and started to load my plate, Hermione ran up beside me and told me something had happened and that we needed to get to the Hospital Wing right away.

"I thought she said she needed until the end of the day," I said, rushing.

"She did. That's what worries me." Hermione huffed and fast-walked past Peeves, who was about to throw a stink-bomb at her.

I, being behind her, gave him a look that said 'throw that and you won't remember what happened all last week.' He backed off.

Before they could get to the Hospital Wing, they were intercepted by Professor McGonagall.

"Girls," she nodded.

They nodded back, "Professor," they said in unison.

"Please, Professor, how is Arthur? Is he holding up?" I asked, hopefully.

"That's what I came to talk to you about," she said, sadly.

**Ron **

Rupert played with Grace and Nicole for a while. I sat and wondered about Arthur. No one ever tells me anything. Even when it directly affects me. 'Stupid world,' I thought to myself.

Lavender came bursting into the common room half-way through what should've been Transfiguration. She was crying and I didn't know what to do.

'Do I hold her? Do I comfort her? Do I sit here and do nothing?' I said, inside my mind. 'Just get up and ask her what's wrong you moron!'

"What's wrong you-" I was about to say moron but I don't think Lavender noticed.

"It's Arthur. He…He…" she jumped into me, sobbing.

I awkwardly hugged her and patted her back. "Yeah. Where is he?"

"He didn't make it," she looked at me through her tear-blurred vision.

I didn't know what to think. 'Less work for me!' was my first thought. Then 'shut up Ron, you insensitive git!'

"That's terrible," I said.

"You don't sound very devastated," she accused me. "He was a part of you. He was half of you. He was something that you should care about more than the entire world," she started bawling again and buried her head into my shirt.

"Well, at least we still have Rupert, right?" I tried to make it a bit better.

"Yes. My other baby," she detached herself from me and stumbled over to the playpen, grabbing at her son.

Draco sauntered into the room. "What up, yo?" He smiled.

"Uhmm…" I didn't know what to say. "Arthur… won't be… with us anymore."

Draco's face contorted in confusion and then understanding. "I'm so sorry."

Harry walked in with Grace and saw Lavender crying over Rupert. "What's wr-"

"Don't even ask, man," Draco put out his hand to block Harry from getting closer.

I felt like I should sit beside her but, then again, I also really wanted to leave. I decided on the first one, but on the other side of the couch. Draco and Harry went upstairs and I assumed that Draco had told him because I heard a gasp.

"Lavender, it's okay. We don't know what went wrong. It might not have even been our fault," I told her, gently.

"I know. But when something that you created leaves the world, you feel like a terrible person because you didn't prevent it from happening," she smiled weakly, rocking Rupert back and forth.

"Where are the other girls?" I asked her.

"Hermione and I were excused from Transfiguration but I imagine they're in class," she didn't look up from the baby.

"So where's Hermione?"

"You need to stop caring about her so much. She's with Draco."

I was taken aback. "Wha-? I don't care too mu- she's one of my best friends! And, for the record, miss, she's not WITH Draco."

"She is. I can tell. She just hasn't told you," she smirked at me.

**Lavender**

His face got very red. From embarrassment or frustration, I couldn't tell. This was cheering me up quite a bit.

"Wha-? I don't care too mu- she's one of my best friends! And, for the record, miss, she's not WITH Draco."

I smiled at him, smug. "She is. I can tell. She just hasn't told you."

His eyes widened into panic, then realization. I was joking, and now he knew it. But he was worried for a second there. He honestly thought that she had confided that in me.

"Well whatever, not like I would care anyway," he crossed his arms and turned from me.

Either Harry or Hermione made dinner every night. They were the only ones that knew how to make food. They thought that all of us had grown up in magical families and didn't know. They were right. About everyone except me.

Lying to people isn't something I make a habit of. But after seeing what happened to Hermione in our second year, I had no choice but to lie about my family and my heritage. My father doesn't work at the Ministry. He's a lawyer. My mother isn't Madam Malkin's assistant. She sells shoes.

Now that I've told everyone a false truth, I can't just up and tell them that I lied to them for five and a half years. Rupert isn't pureblood like everyone thinks and I'm nervous that someone will do a test and find out. So I have to play dumb and pretend that I have no idea how to make mashed potatoes.

"Dinner's ready everyone," Hermione said as she set down the ham with her oven mitts.

Ron grabbed at it and started piling it onto his plate. Hermione and Ginny looked at him with disgust. After he had taken about a quarter of the ham, Draco, who was sitting beside him, yanked it out of his grasp and took two pieces.

Harry brought out the steamed broccoli and sat down in his seat between Hermione and Ginny.

Blaise, being beside Ginny, took it from her hands after she had taken some, and passed it to Neville, on his left. Luna went around and put pumpkin juice in everyone's cups and sat down beside Neville. I nodded to her when she got to me.

Pansy downed hers quickly and refilled her glass with firewhiskey. She passed the drink to Draco and raised her eyebrows at him, asking if he wanted some.

He refused and I thought I saw Hermione smile a bit when he did. I, however, reached across him and Ron to take some.

After we had all gotten our food, but before we started eating, Hermione stood up, apparently wanting to make a speech.

"Today we lost a wonderful young boy. If you didn't know, everything inside little Arthur continued to grow at the increased rate that the other kids were, while everything outside stopped. It's not fair, and it's not going unnoticed. Lavender and Ron have lost something dear to them and I think we should all show our respects to the little boy that could've been," Hermione said. She raised her glass.

I looked up at her, finally recognizing the wonderful person she was. I was grateful and now regretted making fun of her all these years.

Everyone smiled and lifted their goblets from the table as well. I saw that Ginny had tears in her eyes.

"To Arthur?" Hermione asked.

"To Arthur," everyone cheered and drank from their cups.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Hogsmeade and Hermione's birthday

Steph

September 10 

**Harry **

The girls had left for class not five minutes ago and already almost every single baby was awake and either screaming or just talking to themselves loudly. I drug myself out of bed and trudged over to Grace's crib, picking her up and walking toward the bedroom door.

"Morning Neville," I grumbled as I walked into the common room and set grace into one of the playpens.

"Morning Harry," he replied, walking out of the kitchen with two bottles of formula. He gave one to each of the twins then slumped down onto the couch. Ron came stumbling down the stairs carrying a screaming Rupert and looking like he was listening to a Mandrake scream.

"Can you take him for a minute Harry? I have to get him a bottle," Ron mumbled, handing Rupert off to me before I could reply and walking into the kitchen. I held Rupert and thought of what I could do to quiet him down. I tried the pacifier, but Rupert spat it out and resumed screaming. I turned him onto his stomach and rubbed his back in circles for a moment. Rupert's screaming subsided and he started to fall back asleep in my arms. Ron walked out carrying a bottle and gawked at me.

"You're like a baby whisperer or something. First Nicole, now Rupert. No wonder Grace is such a good baby. Here, let me see him," Ron told me, taking Rupert back from him. Ron popped the bottle into his mouth and he began to drink it quickly.

"He really is your kid Ron," I laughed. Rupert had gone through the bottle in less than two minutes and was now content and playing with the pacifier. Ron put the bottle back and set Rupert into the pen beside Grace, sitting down on the loveseat behind him and spreading out across it.

Draco came down the stairs with Nicole in his arms saying,

"Who's daddy's good little girl? You are! You're such a cutie!" He stopped dead in his tracks and saw the three boys staring at him. We looked between each other and burst into laughter, Ron nearly falling off the couch. Draco set Nicole down into the pen and said,

"What, can't a guy play with his daughter without getting laughed at?" Ron and Neville laughed even harder and I said,

"Not in this dorm! That was absolutely priceless Malfoy! Where's the camera when you need it!" Draco smirked at them and walked away, muttering under his breath. Neville noticed that a small envelope hand appeared on the table in front of them and picked it up.

"It's from McGonagall, should we read it or should we wait until the girls get back tonight?" he asked.

"Open it now, we can always tell them later," Ron told him. He opened the letter and read it aloud.

"Good morning Parents, this weekend's assignment is to take your children outside for a day. As part of the assignment, you will be allowed a day in Hogsmeade. This will be a monthly occurrence seeing as you are not permitted to join your classmates on their trips to Hogsmeade. Enjoy the rest of your week and have fun at Hogsmeade.

Professor McGonagall." I took the letter from Neville and read it over again to make sure I heard it right.

"One Hogsmeade day a month. That's way better than what we got in our separate houses! Having a kid really does pay off!" I exclaimed. This was going to be an awesome weekend.

**Ginny **

Transfiguration is going to be the bane of my very existence, I'm serious. Lucky for me, class is almost over and I can go to Defence Against the Dark Arts next. Thanks to Harry and Dumbledore's Army two years ago, I'm top of my class. He taught us stuff I'm supposed to be learning now, so I have the upper hand on all of my class mates who weren't in DA with me.

"Class dismissed. Ms. Weasley, can I have a word with you please?" McGonagall asked, letting everyone else go. I walked up to her desk and said,

"You wanted to speak with me Professor?" I asked, resting my books on my hip. She stacked a few papers then looked to me and said,

"Yes. I'm just checking in with all of the project students to see how things are going since Tuesday's incident." The memory stung in the back of my mind, but I nodded and replied,

"Everything's great. We've tried to steer clear of the subject as much as possible, but so far everything's going well. The babies are growing more and more over night it seems. They've got to be close to six or seven months now." McGonagall nodded and dismissed me, telling me not to be late for my next class. I walked through the crowded halls and made my way to class, thinking about Harry and Grace.

**Harry **

"I would hate to be a baby again. This baby food looks awful, and it doesn't smell too nice either," Ron said as he attempted to feed Rupert without much success. I'd say more of it got on him than in him by the time they were done with it. I chuckled and fed Grace, who took the food willingly and enjoyed it.

"I don't know where she got it from, but she seems to like vegetables more than anything else. I hate vegetables," I told Ron, feeding Grace another spoonful of sweet potato puree from the bowl.

"She must've gotten it from Ginny. She's always loved them, and I'm pretty sure she's the only Weasley kid who does. Fred and George used to trick me into eating theirs when I was younger," he explained. I laughed at the thought of Ron being so gullible as a child and realized that he's always been this gullible. No wonder Hermione liked him so much. Too bad he had to go and ruin that all by leaving us when we needed him last year.

"Hey Ron, do you think Hermione has a thing for Malfoy?" I asked, teasing him. I knew full well how he felt about the subject, but I asked anyways.

"I don't bloody know! If she does then that's her trouble," he grumbled, wiping the food off of Rupert and going to rinse out the dish. I didn't need to hear it from him to know he still had feelings for her. He acted this way every time I brought her up to him.

**Ginny **

"Finally we can eat! I'm starving," Ron said as we all sat down at the table. We'd put all the kids to bed before eating so we didn't have to worry about them.

"You never stop eating, do you?" Hermione asked him. He shook his head and bit into his burger. We all rolled our eyes at him and began to eat.

"These are great Harry. You and Hermione are both really good at cooking," Luna told him. He smiled and waved off the comment. As he put the top bun on his burger, his arm brushed against mine. We both jumped slightly, looking awkwardly at each other for a second then turning back to our dinner.

"So we got a letter from McGonagall this morning. It said that we have to take the babies out for a day. We get one day a month to go to Hogsmeade and this Saturday we have to take the babies with us," he told us.

_That means more time for me to try and convince Harry that just because he broke it off to search for horcruxes last year doesn't mean that he can use the excuse anymore. The world's not in grave danger anymore. He has to at least give us a try again. Nothing to worry about, nothing to get in the way or threaten his very existence. Just us. _

September 12

"Come on you guys; don't make us leave you behind!" Hermione shouted to Ron and Harry. They were slowly making their way down the path to Hogsmeade. It was a beautiful day out, which made it great for walking. Most of the kids were making noise of some kind as we walked, but Rupert was particularly quiet. Lavender was fussing over him the whole way there, saying that he was too quiet and that there had to have been something wrong with him.

"He's just like Ron was when he was a kid Lavender, calm down. Ron didn't actually talk full sentences to anyone until he was like five years old. He could talk, he just chose not to. He was really quiet, but he wasn't shy which was the weird thing. There's nothing wrong with him, trust me," I reassured her. She muttered something along the lines of 'It's always Ron's fault' and continued to walk.

"She's such a drama queen," I whispered to Hermione as we walked. She nodded and said,

"Sometimes I actually feel sorry for Ron. It's quite sad." We both giggled. Ron and Harry finally caught up to us, Draco not far behind them. Neville, Luna, Pansy and Blaise had all gone out that morning, at different times of course, so the rest of them went out in the afternoon.

"Why couldn't I have just stayed back at the castle with Blaise? It would have been a lot more fun than hanging out with you lot," Draco complained as they walked.

"That would completely defeat the purpose of the assignment. We were told to spend time with our kids, which means we have to spend time with each other. Not that I fancy it either, but we'll just have to suck it up and deal with it I suppose," Hermione explained. Draco wasn't too happy, and I wasn't really in the mood for his whining today. Harry came up next to me and said,

"Want me to take her for a while?" I looked up into his emerald green eyes and said,

"Sure, that would be great Harry. Thanks." He smiled and took Grace from me while saying,

"No problem Ginny. She is our daughter after all. Gotta share the responsibility once in a while."

Harry was so good with her. I never imagined him as the fatherly type, especially since he'd spent the past year on the run searching for parts of Voldemort's soul and nearly being killed on multiple occasions. She stumbled on a rock and bumped into him, blushing hard and regaining her footing. He laughed and said,

"Watch yourself there Gin, wouldn't want you to get hurt."

. . . .

**Harry**

The Three Broomsticks was a bit crowded, so Ron and I left the girls and went to Honeydukes. Draco had decided to be a git and make Hermione angry by telling her the way she was holding Nicole was wrong, so she told him to come with us. Ron almost argued with her, but she shot him a 'leave or suffer the wrath' look, so he left in silence.

"God she's such a little know it all. You would think that just for once she would lighten up a little and not be so uptight about everything!" Draco complained as they walked.

"Hermione's always been like that. It's actually worse now that we have the kids, but she's still always been like this," I told him. Both Ron and I knew well the pain in the arse Hermione could be.

We walked into Honeydukes and took our time browsing the shelves. Ron grabbed a box of sugar quills and bought them, snacking as I looked for something. I'd been eating a lot more of my sweets stash lately out of stress from the babies and just from shear boredom during the days I didn't have classes.

I ended up buying a box of chocolate cauldrons, a few chocolate frogs and a package of liquorice wands for Ginny. We left the store and walked back over to The Three Broomsticks.

"You guys remembered that it's Hermione's birthday on Saturday, right?" Malfoy asked as we walked up to the door. Ron frowned and I nodded.

"Yeah, I remembered. I already got her something, what about you guys?" I asked. Draco nodded and Ron shrugged. I could guess that he either felt bad about forgetting or he was angry at Malfoy for remembering it.

September 15

**Ginny **

"Hermione! Lavender! Luna! Come look at this quickly!" I shouted from the living room. They all trampled each other to get down the stairs and skidded to a halt beside me. Both Lavender and Hermione's jaws dropped in amazement at the scene in front of them, while Luna looked delighted.

On the floor, Nicole, Rupert and Lucas were all crawling around each other.

"I set them out on the floor to stretch out and they just started crawling. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life!" I told them in an attempt to explain what I'd seen. Hermione squealed with joy and picked up Nicole, kissing her on the forehead and saying,

"Who's momma's good little girl! Crawling all by yourself! I'm so proud of you!" Lavender stood in awe and watched Rupert crawl around. Lucas finally reached his toy and began to splay with it. I grabbed the camera and snapped a few shots of each of them before handing the camera off to Hermione.

September 18

**Harry **

"It's been three days already and every other kid has crawled but Grace! I'm seriously starting to think there might be something wrong with her," I told Ron as I watched Grace sit in the middle of the playpen. She watched through the mesh as the other babies crawled around on the floor.

"You sound just like Lavender when she complains about how Rupert doesn't make any noise. To be honest, I'm right glad he doesn't make any noise. Maybe Grace just doesn't want to yet, I don't know," he replied, holding Rupert by the fingers while he stood in front of him. I sighed and pushed my hair up with my hands. I sunk down to the floor and made my way over to the pen, sitting in front of Grace and saying,

"Won't you try for daddy? Just once?" she looked at him with a puzzled look for a moment before sitting back and playing with her little stuffed snitch.

"You're stubborn, just like your mum," I told her. She smiled widely and let out a happy shout, after which she promptly threw aside the toy and got on all fours. She just stayed there for a moment staring at me before crawling around the pen. I snatched the camera off the table and took a few pictures, laughing at the faces she made to the camera.

"Finally! You are so much like your mum Gracie," I laughed. She squealed again and continued around the pen.

September 19

**Ginny **

"Happy birthday Hermione!" we all shouted. Well, everyone except Pansy and Blaise. To all of our surprise, even Malfoy joined in. Harry and Ron jogged down the stairs and Ron shouted,

"Oh crap! Harry, we forgot about Hermione's birthday!" All eyes were on them as they walked shyly down the last couple of stairs. Even the babies looked disappointed, which was a bit odd, but it helped set the mood in the room.

"I can't believe you two forgot! After seven years, you'd think you would remember what day Hermione's birthday is on!" I shouted at them, Grace sitting on my hip talking to herself. They looked guiltier than I've ever seen them in my entire life. Hermione stood beside me with Nicole on her hip and a frown on her face. She was even less impressed than I was.

"Hermione we're both really sorry! Honest!" Ron apologized, but his words fell on deaf ears. Hermione had turned away and walked into the kitchen. Neville brought out a cake Lavender had helped him make earlier that day and set it on the table.

After a painfully off pitch round of Happy Birthday, we all took a piece of cake and sat around the table. Grace squirmed and complained on my lap, but I refused to let her go see Harry. I was angry at him for being so dumb and for listening to Ron when it came to something like this. Grace continued to squirm and eventually resorted to screaming. I stood up and began to walk away when Harry reached out and said,

"Here, let me see her for a minute." I shot him a glare and snapped,

"I've got her; I don't need your help." He backed off and I walked upstairs, Grace still screaming in my arms, to our bedroom and shut the door. I sat on the floor and set Grace down between my legs, pulling her little plush snitch from beside her crib and handing it to her.

Harry walked in and shut the door behind him. I glared up at him as he walked over and sat next to me on the floor.

"What do you want," I asked harshly.

"Don't act like this is my fault Ginny, because you know it's not. I just want to know why you're being so angry with me all of a sudden," he asked back. I rolled my eyes and stared at the floor between us. I noticed that his hand was only inches from mine and that I had the sudden urge to grab it. I held back and said,

"You forgot Hermione's birthday. You also listened to Ron, which ultimately led to you forgetting her birthday." He frowned at me and said,

"We both know that's got nothing to do with this Ginny. Now come on, what's really on your mind?"

"I don't think I should bother with telling you. It's not like you're ever going to reciprocate the feelings that I'm feeling for you and have been for the past six years. It's not like you care that I'm still in love with you even after you broke my heart and left for a year to risk your life and save the world. You died and I swear I was ready to die right there with you! Do you get what I'm telling you here Harry? I'm saying that I want to be with you again, more now than ever before because I nearly lost you already and I'm not willing to lose you again!" I ranted. The only thought in my mind was why am I still going on about this.

He said nothing. Great, now everything was going to be awkward. His hand was suddenly on top of mine and when I looked back up, his face was only inches from mine.

_Holy crap, I might actually be kissing him again in about two seconds. Nothing can spoil this moment for me right now_.

"Harry come back down here! We're going to-" Ron shouted as he came bursting through the door. He stopped, looked back and forth at us a couple times, then walked out while saying,

"Every time I come into a room you two are either snogging or about to snog each other. Stupid timing." Harry and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. He fell over and I picked up Grace, standing up and walking back down to the common room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi everyone! I'm Robyn! I'm super sorry that this chapter was so short but we have a lot planned and Steph needs to write from Pansy and Blaise's perspective so we can get back to Draco and Hermione for a part that we've planned out for the Sunday. So once again, sorry and please enjoy **

Chapter Five: Walking and Stuff

The Parenthood Project

Robyn

September 19

**Luna**

I bounced Lucas on my lap, still sitting at the table. Harry and Ginny, two of my only friends, strolled down the hallway hand in hand. When they reached the common room once more, Hermione took Grace from Ginny's grasp and placed her into a playpen beside Nicole. I took this as a sign to do the same and put Lucas down. He crawled over to his father, who held his twin sister, Logan. Neville picked him up and put the two in a separate pen.

"Harry and I had a wonderful idea," Hermione announced to the general area. "We were thinking that, since we're always the ones cooking the meals, that you should all learn to do the same. Take some of the work off our backs."

"Of course!" Ronald stood up very enthusiastically. "Anything for you… guys. Anything for you guys," his ears blushed red.

I saw Draco give him a dirty look.

"Sit down! You're making a fool of yourself," Lavender pulled Ron back down onto the couch by the bottom of his shirt.

"Anyway," Harry gave him a knowing smile, causing Draco to get a confused look on his face. "We wanted to teach you guys to cook the basic foods."

I took the silence as an opportunity to chime in with my extensive knowledge. I raised my hand.

Harry gave me a strange look but pointed to me all the same. "Luna?"

"I can make food. My father taught me how."

"Well that's great, Luna," Hermione smiled.

"It really is. My father simply adores my Freshwater Plimpie Soup"

**Neville**

"…adores my Freshwater Plimpie Soup," she boasted.

Pansy looked disgusted but I would be happy to try it for Luna's sake.

"What in Merlin's name are…Plimpies?" Pansy threw out.

"Why, I'm surprised you haven't heard of them," Luna was genuinely shocked.

I smiled. She's adorable.

They taught us how to make the simple things like pancakes and pizza and potatoes and other things beginning with P. And you know, other letters, too. I don't know.

Hermione was excited to know that I already knew how to make tea. My Gran always thought that it was something worth knowing to do in the muggle way.

I went to sleep in mine and Luna's room on Sunday night educated and ready for my potions exam on Monday… but not really.

September 23

**Luna**

"Luna?" Hermione was speaking to me. I turned to her slowly, "You can stop rocking them now. They've been asleep for ten minutes."

I stopped. "Oh. I suppose they have," I walked down the hallway to put them in their cribs.

When I got back, I flopped down on one of the couches. "They don't stop crying," I sobbed into a pillow.

I felt Hermione stroke the back of my head, "sleep, Luna. You need to sleep. Go into my room and I'll take care of the twins if they wake up, okay?"

"Thank you, Hermione," I dragged myself down the hallway and collapsed onto Hermione's bed. At least, I thought it was Hermione's.

**Neville**

"What the bloody-" I heard Draco say from his room. He walked out, "What's with the weird girl on my bed?"

"She has a name," I said quietly.

"Oh, Draco. I'm sorry," Hermione walked up to him. "I told her she could sleep in my room because she was so tired. The kids didn't sleep at all last night and she needed some rest. I guess she didn't know whose bed was whose."

"Well I hope her crazy doesn't rub off on it," Draco sneered.

"Malfoy," I stood up. "Stop insulting her, especially behind her back. She's a beautiful person and you're just…" He looked at me incredulously. "…Jealous."

I stomped into Draco and Hermione's room and picked Luna up off the bed. She stirred a little and wrapped her arms around my neck. I walked back out into the hallway and gave Draco a dirty look and went into our room.

"HOLY SH-" Ginny screamed from the common room. Harry slapped his hand over her mouth.

"Bloody hell!" Ron looked at Grace.

She stood up and put her tiny hands on Ginny's face. Ginny smiled proudly.

"Well, looks like she's not behind after all," Harry said.

"That's my girl! She's a fast learner like her Mum!"

"And her Dad," Harry looked over, annoyed.

"Congrads, you guys," I smiled at them.

"Thanks, Neville," Ginny beamed.

September 25

**Luna**

The twins' sleep schedules have been so terrible lately that I never have time for anything. I never get to sleep and I never get to do homework and I never get to… anything. Neville has been trying to help and I understand that but I don't think he comprehends how hard it is. I mean, of course, we both were the only children in our family and now to have two, I just don't know how to take care of them properly.

Hermione was just as lonely as a kid but she babysat. The wizarding kids like us have no idea what's going on.

Rupert stood up yesterday and Lavender was ecstatic. I don't think Ron was as happy because I believe he thought that Rupert would be able to ruin more things when he started walking.

Draco is really scared that Nicole's going to be different. He's pushing her to be the best and the fastest at everything. He doesn't realise, but I see him standing her up every night when everyone else has gone to bed. I see the way he's disappointed when she falls down.

Me? I'm not so worried. My kids will learn someday and I'll love them no matter what.

I was sleeping in my room today and I heard Pansy yell to me to get out to the common room. I dragged myself out there to see my girl standing up and showing off her toothless smile. She looked so proud of herself.

Then my boy looked up at her and seemed to be jealous. He stood up right beside her and tried to push her down.

I ran over to them and picked them up in my arms. I turned to Lucas. "You don't push people, sir. That's a no-no, okay?"


End file.
